* * Exploring Lexington

This past weekend Jane and I spent two nights in Lexington, Virginia. Every year that we have been together, which is better than a quarter of a century now, we have gone away in October for a couple of days either to a small hotel or to a bed and breakfast. We typically like to choose a place that is between one and three hours from home. We like to be far enough away to have it feel like we have left, but not so far as to spend the entire weekend traveling.

Previously, Jane has spent a lot of time in Lexington because she has accompanied our daughter there to the Virginia Horse Center. But neither of us had spent much time in the town itself.

Lexington is home to two universities, Virginia Military Institute and Washington and Lee University. The former is our nation's oldest state-managed military school, founded in 1836. Stonewall Jackson was teaching there at the onset of the Civil War. George Marshall (Marshall Plan) and many senators, congressmen, justices, and Nobel Prize winners have attended. It has about 1500 students. The latter is one of the nation’s oldest collebest, dating back to 1749. it was formerly named Washington College. After the Civil War, Robert E. Lee became president. When he died, grateful trustees rename the school Washington and Lee University.

The weekend got off to a rocky start. Jane and I needed to take separate vehicles because she had an appointment in Charlottesville on the following Monday and I needed to return home. So I drove our Honda Pacific Coast motorcycle and she drove the Subaru station wagon. When I arrived in town on the motorcycle, it failed to restart. We were planning to take it for a ride later that afternoon. We decided that under the circumstances, it was best to not ride it anymore. Anticipating some problems, I had brought with me a trickle charger. We found a long extension cord at the downtown hotel where we stayed and I was able to connect it.

Back in April, I was team leader for a Rotary International GSD trip to Bolivia, which I have chronicled previously on this blog. At the same time I was in Bolivia, Bill Ricks of Lexington was team leader to a similar team to Tasmania. His experience was much different than mine. Because Tasmania is an English speaking country with a similar culture to our own, it was a much easier place to meet and interact with people than the Spanish-speaking Bolivia. Jane and I had dinner Friday night in downtown Lexington with Bill and his wife, and we traded notes on our experiences.

On Sunday, Jane and I rendezvoused with one of my dearest old friends, Chris Hamilton, and his wife Phyllis, who live near Harrisonburg. We decided to walk together on a new trail called the Chessie Nature Trail, linking Lexington with Buena Vista. The trail is about 6 miles long and it parallels the Maury River. It is a delightful trail, alternating between forests and farms, with some large open fields and some narrow cliffs.

Chris had told me earlier that he had invited some other friends to come along as well. Two couples had initially accepted. However, by the time the event actually rolled around, apparently both of them changed their minds, citing medical issues. Chris is a couple of years older than I am. He served for two years in the Army before returning to school at Virginia Tech, where I met him. He is in exceptionally good physical condition and thinks nothing of doing a 75 mile bicycle ride. However, he told me that walking was actually tougher on his body than bicycling. Phyllis said that she frequently walks in her neighborhood and this 6 mile journey was not a problem for her. Likewise, I often do four to five mile walks on the nearby Huckleberry trail. So this was in no way a strenuous activity for me. By contrast, I had recently returned from a 40 mile backpacking trip where I was caring where I was walking upwards of 10 miles each day. Hiking 10 miles, up hill and down, with a heavy pack on my back is considerably more stressful to the body than hiking six flat miles. By the time the trip was over, Jane was complaining about pain in her knees. Although she goes to the gym often for workouts, she still found this trip to be stressful to her body. We’re not getting any younger!

Back in town, we found a sports bar where we were able to have dinner together while watching most of the Virginia Tech football game with Boston College, which Tech won handily.

The next morning, Jane and I toured the adjacent campuses of Washington and Lee and Virginia Military Institute. Lee's Chapel at Washington and Lee is a beautiful building, open to the public. However, we were there on a Sunday morning in a time where it was closed. So we were not able to go inside.

At VMI, we were able to tour the museum of the Institute. One of the world’s most complete collections of firearms is housed there. The austere campus and the presence of uniformed students was unnerving to me. Certainly there have been times when our military has been needed to protect our country and its security. However, I grew up during the Vietnam conflict and I have always felt that our country was a bit too eager during the past few decades to go to war. Looking over a room full of firearms, each of which is designed to kill a human being, made me categorically uneasy.

Once on my way home, the Honda performed perfectly. At one point, I had to stop to fill it with gas. I did so without shutting off the motor, afraid that I would not be able to restart it once back on my way. When I finally arrived in my driveway, I shut the motor off. Then I pushed the starter and it fired right back up. So, most of my anxiety was wasted.

All in all, a great weekend!